The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council, announces the 8th Forsyth County Drug Summit, to be held at the Forsyth Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2017.

Every day over 2,500 teens in the US will try a prescription drug to get high for the first time. Opioid drug abuse alone costs the US economy more than $80 billion dollars each year. Unfortunately, drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in our country.

Tammy Nicholson, Program Director, explains the concept of the Drug Summit Series, “Each summit focuses on real life issues in the community, empowering residents through increased knowledge. There is no “one-size fits all” answer for drug prevention. There is no magic inoculation or cure. The true solution comes when Forsyth County citizens learn and grow together on a regular basis, with the common goal of becoming a healthy, drug free community.”

Alan Schwarz, Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of ADHD Nation — Children, Doctors, Big Pharma and the Making of an American Epidemic — is the keynote speaker for the fall conference.

Heather Hayes, Licensed Counselor and Board Registered Interventionist, will lead a panel focused on advice for parents, common mistakes made when faced with addiction in the family, and guidelines for finding an ethical treatment provider.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will present an update on drugs in our community, and a member of the Recovery Community will share their courageous, personal journey from addiction to recovery.

Local resource providers will be available prior to and after the event.

The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council was created in 2013 to unite businesses, community leaders, civic groups, law enforcement, health officials and individuals from our community in a mission to educate, advocate, and empower the citizens of Forsyth County to prevent substance abuse.

Cumming, GA, – Plan to attend the 7th Forsyth County Drug Summit on Tuesday, April 25th starting at 6 pm at the Cumming City Park’s Event Center at 437 Pilgrim Mill Road, Cumming, Georgia 30040. Please note that this is a new location for our summit. The Event Center is a beautiful facility.

“Our Spring 2017 Summit will provide new local and national tools & information to empower youth and adults with knowledge, resources, and hope. You can’t defend yourself against or heal from something without proper knowledge. Come and learn! And If you’ve never been to a Summit … this is the perfect time to start!” Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council Director, Tammy Nicholson.

Speakers will include a Surprise National Prevention Speaker, Recovery Speaker Victoria Torres, School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden, and Sheriff Ron Freeman. There will be exhibits, breakout sessions, and much more.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will be represented at the drug summit by a contingency of School Resource Officers from each of the County’s 5 high schools. School Resource Officers will be partnered with representatives from each high school and will be available to answer questions, hear concerns or offer advice in a private setting.

Also on hand will be Sheriff Ron Freeman, Captain Chris Barrett of the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics unit, 1st Lieutenant Ben Finley (South Precinct Commander) and Captain Mark Hoffman (North Precinct Commander) and other officers to answer questions or hear concerns from those impacted by or concerned with issues of illicit drug use in our county.

If you want to be better informed and want your kids to be better equipped to face real issues, please join us on Tuesday, April 25 at 6 pm at the Cumming City Park Event Center.

Please join us for the 6th Forsyth County Drug Summit on October, 24th at 6pm at the Forsyth Conference Center at Lanier Technical College (3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd, Cumming, GA 30041). This Summit’s theme is “Stigma” as we work to break the strongholds that prevent us from having the healthiest possible community.

Help us save lives!!! Drugs change constantly and so does the knowledge and tactics that will help us protect our communities from their devastation. Join us and learn, share, and grow as we work to make a positive difference in our Forsyth County.

A panel of experts will be present to answer your questions. Please join us. Education is prevention. The more you know, the more equipped you are to help prevent this increasing epidemic. Someone you know could need help. Your kids need you to talk to them, which means you need to know what to say. Get educated. Find Support. Find Recovery.

Cumming, GA, April 11, 2016– Substances and ways of using drugs are ever-changing. Please mark your calendars to join us at the April 19 Summit at the Forsyth Conference Center located at 3410 Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Cumming GA 30041. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday evening’s Summit includes special speaker Report Jeremy Campbell from the Inside the Heroin Triangle series. This powerful free-to-the-public Drug Summit provides our local communities with a way to stay ahead of the deadly trends by educating, promoting prevention, sharing resources for recovery, and providing hope.

“We encourage families to take time to attend the Forsyth County Drug Summit and stay pro-active in our communities and at home. The key to success is a combination of Prevention, Destigmatization, Recovery, Hope, and the time to start making a difference is now.” Program Director, Tammy Nicholson

The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council was created in 2013 by local community leaders who saw a need to take action to educate, advocate, and empower our communities about substance abuse prevention, recovery, and hope. The response at first 2013 Summit was tremendous and has continued each year. In 2015 the Council became a newly grant funded Drug Free Community Coalition and continues to grow in its outreach and impact.

Would you like to join the council or request more information? If so, please contact Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council at 770-887-1710 or email at tammy@unitedwayforsyth.com.

The next Forsyth County Drug Summit will be held on October 26th at Lanier Tech Conference Center in Cumming. Doors open at 6pm with speakers starting at 6:30pm. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will be available with a hands on display of drugs and paraphernalia. This is your chance to get questions answered and to know what to look for. This will be a drug take back event as well. Bring unused prescriptions for proper disposal.

We are thrilled to have a very special guest speaker with us for this event. Dr. Merrill Norton, Pharm D., NCAC II, CCS, CCDP-D. Dr. Norton is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. He specializes in psychopharmacology and addiction pharmacy. Along with teaching at the University, he runs a private practice in Athens for people with co-ocurring disorders, generally substance abuse/addiction and depression or other mental illness.

Dr. Norton is a well known speaker. This is one event you do not want to miss! His personal story is intriguing, his knowledge is immeasurable and his endearing personality will keep you asking for more.

Each of us knows someone with substance abuse. We must end the secrecy and stigma of this disease. We must educate our youth of the dangers and we must come together as a community to elicit change. There is something each of us can do.

The Lights of Hope event is set for September 17th at 7pm at the Forsyth County Courthouse. Candles will be lit in honor of those in recovery, for those still in active addiction and in memory of those we have lost to addiction. There will be stories of loss, love and hope. Please join us in honor and support of those you love. We are all touched by addiction. Help bring awareness to this disease.

The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council will meet to start of the 2015 year, January 23rd, 2015. Forsyth County has had at least three more recent overdoses. These are Forsyth County young people. The council is working in conjunction with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office to institute additional prevention programs in the schools. The last Drug Summit was held in August of 2014 with about 400 people in attendance.

We’ll update you on continued plans to educate and advocate for Drug Prevention in the county.

Here is a link to the recording of the last drug summit, meant to be educational for the public in regards to drug abuse in our area.

The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council will host it’s third Drug Awareness Summit on August 19th, at 6:30pm at the Forsyth Conference Center.

Did you know that 4 out of 5 high schoolers will try drugs or alcohol?

All parents and children from middle school ages up are encouraged to attend. Education is the best prevention. There is not a single parent of a drug addict that ever thought that would be their child. Please come learn the facts, what to look for, and how you can help prevent drug abuse in our community and with your own children. You will hear from the mother of a drug addict, her son, a highly acclaimed intervention specialist, as well as the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office will have their team of specialists there to show parents the types of drugs kids are using as well as what to look for to know if your kids are using. They will have a display of drugs and paraphernalia to watch for. The interventionist will help parents with prevention techniques and also talk about signs.

Even if you have attended a previous Drug Summit, you need to attend this one. Each event has new information! Even if you don’t have kids, you need to know what to look for in your co-workers, employees, neighbors and friends. The growing drug problem is not just present in teens. This spans all ages and demographics.

Please come get educated and help your community. Let’s prepare for a better tomorrow!

We send prayers for the family of Paul Castell, and for the families of all the teenagers involved in the recent car accident in West Forsyth. This is a horrific accident and another reason to talk to your kids about the effects of drugs and alcohol. One poor choice can be life threatening for them or for their friends.

As parents we have to educate ourselves on what teens are using. Please review the link to the drug summit on this site and talk to your teens about drugs and alcohol. Make sure you know where they are going and that parents will be there. Show up unexpectedly on occasion so they know you are watching. Watch social media as well but realize that they may have more than one account. Just keep your eyes open. There is no easy solution. Education is the best prevention.

The next Forsyth County Drug Summit will be August 19th, 2014. 6pm at the conference center. Plan to attend.